Regional radiotherapy may improve outcomes in patients with early stage breast cancer undergoing breast conservation therapy.

BACKGROUND

Breast conservation therapy (BCT) is recommended as standard management of early breast cancer. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the results of BCT to identify prognostic factors predictive of treatment outcomes.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Four hundred and ninety-eight eligible women with unilateral stage I-II breast cancer who had undergone BCT were analyzed.

RESULTS

The cumulative incidence of local recurrence (LR) was 1.9% and 3.7% at 3- and 5-years respectively. The 5-year disease-free, cancer-specific, and overall survival (DFS, CSS, OS) were 80.0%, 87.3% and 85.4% respectively. Significant independent predictors for LR included young age and absence of chemotherapy. Regional nodal radiotherapy was significantly associated with improved DFS and OS.

CONCLUSION

Our results confirmed the efficacy of BCT in the treatment of early breast cancer and indicated that inclusion of regional nodal areas within the radiotherapy field might be beneficial in the BCT setting, particularly for patients with adverse risk features.